Finds

Coins in the thesaurus

A thesaurus (small monument containing coins offered in a sacred area) was found in the archaeological area of Sant’Eulalia; perhaps belonging to a sanctuary outside the Punic town of Cagliari (Krly). Materials found in the thesaurus pit included 307 bronze coins (figs. 1-2) datable from the late Punic era (III cent. B.C.) to the first imperial Roman period (end of I cent. B.C.).

1
Fig. 1 - 307 coins found in the thesaurus (photo by AFS).
2
Fig. 2 - Coins of the thesaurus (photo by AFS).

They are interpreted as offerings made by the faithful and are proof that the sanctuary was used continuously for several centuries. Some coins (semis) date back to the III and II centuries B.C., whilst some others document the Roman domination of Sardinia (which took place in 238 B.C.); on the exergue they have the wording ROMA (figs. 3-4), hypothetically indicating the production mint.

3
Fig. 3 - Money found in the thesaurus: reverse (photo by AFS).
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Fig. 4 - Money found in the thesaurus: recto (photo by AFS).
 

Bibliografia

  • D. MARTORELLI, D. MUREDDU (a cura di), Cagliari, le radici di Marina: dallo scavo archeologico di S. Eulalia un progetto di ricerca formazione e valorizzazione, Cagliari 2002.
  • D. MUREDDU, 23 Secoli in 7 metri. L’area archeologica di S. Eulalia nella storia del quartiere, in MARTORELLI, MUREDDU 2002a, pp. 55-60.
  • F. PINNA, Frammenti di storia sotto S. Eulalia. I risultati delle campagne di scavo 1990-1992, in MARTORELLI, MUREDDU 2002a, pp. 33-54.
  • B. JAEGER (a cura di), Thesaurus cultus et rituum antiquorum. IV: Cult, Places, Representations of Cult Places, Los Angeles 2005.
  • M. TORELLI, s.v. Thesaurus, in ThesCRA IV, pp. 354-356.

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